Means for individual refrigeration of vessels



F. w. McDoNALD 2,959,942

Nov. 15, 1960 A. MEANS FOR INDIVIDUAL REFRIGERATION 0F vEssELs 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Nov. 15, 1957 ,Weder/Qd( VV. Mczma/a' Nov. 15, 1960 F. w. McDoNALD 2,959,942

MEANS FOR IDIVIDUAL REFRIGERATION OF VESSELS Filed Nov. 15, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 liz/*E E ZET Eeden'c/ W McDonald United States Patent() MEANS FOR INDIVIDUAL REFRIGERATION OF VESSELS Frederick W. McDonald, Elmhurst, lll.. assignor to A &

W Products Incorporated, Santa Monica, Calif., a corporation of Califoma Filed Nov. 15, 1957, Ser. No. 696,736

8 Claims. (Cl. 62-526) end by placingvthe glasses inside a refrigerated cabinet' by the tray load. Serving of parties for banquets may be thus accommodated, but it is not a satisfactory way to supply chilled glasses for individual customer or drinker demands at sporadic or intermittent intervals.

Therefore, it is an important object of the present invention to provide novel apparatus by which drinking glasses or other types of vessels may be individually refrigerated.

Another object of the present invention is to provide apparatus from which a' plurality of the vesselsl are adapted to he individually refrigerated, so that even though use of the vessels may be sporadic, a continuous supply of thoroughly chilled vessels is available without necessity of opening any refrigerated cabinet'or warming the' remaining or spare chilled Vessels.A Y

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus for individually chilling vessels from within in an eflicient, thorough, and economical manner.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a refrigerating apparatus which makes available immediately at hand a supply of chilled vessels which are maintained in the desired chilled state continuously until removed from the apparatus for use.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus which will serve the combined functions of a sanitary rackand a refrigerating device.

' A still further object of the invention is to provide apparatus which will refrigerate glasses from within without the use of an expendable means such as carbon dioxide or ice, without permitting the interior of the vessel or glass to frost.

Still yet another object of the present invention Vis to provide a refrigerator evaporator which has a unitary litting through which the refrigeration linesl pass.

Many other advantages, features, and additional objects of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of apparatus for individual refrigeration of vessels according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line II-lI of Figure l;

v11 may be more clearly seen.

ICC

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view, partly in elevation and partly broken away, taken along line III-III of Figure l, and showing a drinking vessel received thereon.

Figure 4 is a'bottom plan view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1, with the bottom thereof removed.

-As shown on the drawings:

The principles of this invention are particularly useful when embodied in a refrigeration assembly such as illustrated in Figure 1, generally indicated by. the numeral 10. The assembly 10 includes a hollow metal base generally indicated at 11, having a plurality of upwardly directed arbors 13, and disposed within a heat-insulative portion or tray 16. The heat-insulative portion 16 includes a peripheral rim 17.

A source of refrigerant 20 includes a supply line 21 and a return line 22 which communicates with the base 11 by means of a fitting 23.

As best seen in Figure 2, it can be seen that the base 11 includes an upper sheet 24 which is horizontally disposed and spaced from a lower sheet 25, each of which sheets have flanges 26 and 27 respectively which telescope within each other and which are welded together or otherwise secured to form a sealed connection therebetween. In the instant embodiment, the arbor 13 is separately formed and disposed within an aperture in the sheet 24, there being a tight seal, such as by a weld, between the arbor 13 and the sheet 24.

Preferably, the arbor 13 is provided with a plurality of dimples 28, the height of which in Figure 2 is exaggerated for purposes of clarity. The function of the dimples 28 is to space the vessel V as shown in Figure 3 from the arbor 13 to preclude the formation of an ice bond therebetween.

It is to be understood that itis within the contemplation of my invention that the arbor 13 be integral with the sheet 24. The arbor 13 may be manufactured in any convenient form such as by spinning, deep-drawing, diecasting, centrifugal casting, and the like, and preferably comprises material having good heat conductive properties.

Referring now to Figure 3, there is shown a side elevational view of the device of Figure 1, taken along lines( III-III, but with the side of the heat-insulative means 16 ybroken away to expose one of the flanges 26 and theilange 27 for better view.

It will be noted that the axial length of the arbor 13 is preferably such that the mouth of the vessel V is spaced from the tray dened by the upper surface of the sheet 24. Preferably also, the outer surface of the arbor 13 is so dimensioned and shaped that it corresponds to the internal configuration of the vessel with which it is to be used in order that more efficient heat transfer relationship may be obtained. A further advantage of this structure is that thereby moisture is precluded fro collecting on the inner surface of the vessel V.

Referring now to Figure 4, a view of the evaporator, rack, or tray type of chilling unit is shown from below. In this View, the sheet 25 with its flange 27 has been removed in order that the interior structure of the base Thus, in Figure 4, the view is taken looking at the lower surface ofthe sheet 24, the ange 26 defining the perimeter of the structure illustrated. Also, the twelve circular representations are views looking into the interior of the various arbors 13. For ease of identification, each of the arbors has also been given a suffix letter which will be referred to later herein, which include the letters a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, and n.

A baille 40 has been provided which begins in this embodiment ata point 41, extends thence to points 4 2, 43, 44, and terminates at point 45. A similar baic 46 3 extends between points 47 and 48. The baffles 40 and 46 thereby define a passage which includes each of the elements 13 in series in alphabetical order. Thus, the baffles 40 and 46 together with the base 11 jointly define a passage which extends to each of the arbors in series.

The capillary or supply line 21 extends through the fitting 23 and through the baffle 40 forming a snug lit therewith. The inner end of the supply line 21 'thus terminates at one end of the passage defined within the base 11.

The supply line 22 receives the capillary line 21 within its opening. The outer dimension of the line 21 is somewhat less than the inner dimension of the line 22, so that the lines 21 and 22 jointly define a return line or passage of generally annular configuration. Thus, the return line 22 telescopically receives the supply line 21 therein. The fitting 23 includes a nut 24a which sealably joins with a suitable threaded aperture at the opposite end of the passage in the base 11.

The passage defined within the base 11 is provided with twelve additional baiiles 50 and 51. Each of the baffles 50 and 51 extends from a point on the flange 26, across the passage to the baille 40, or extends between the baffles 40 and 46. Each of the bai-lies 50 and 51 reg isters with one of the arbors 13 and extends upwardly therein as best seen in Figure 2. The baffles 50 and 51 terminate in this embodiment a short distance from the distal end of the arbor 13 to thereby define an opening or orifice jointly with the interior surface of the arbor 13. It is to be understood that the size of the orifice S2 is illustrative, that the orifice or opening 52 is preferably sized to provide a restriction to ow for expansion of refrigerant gas, and that the orifices 52 may be graduated in size along the length of the refrigerant passage through the base 11. It is to be further understood that the configuration of the orifice may be varied somewhat. Thus, the baffle 51 may extend all `the way to the distal end of the arbor 13, and be provided with an orifice directly in the baffle 51.

The baiiling defined herein need not necessarily have an absoutely vapor-tight joint with the inner surfaces of the base and the arbors. This is so because if there be slight leakage, the loss of efficiency of the refrigerating device is negligible. This is particularly true where the area of the orifices 53 is comparatively large. However, for maximum efficiency, a good joint may be provided. The various baliies 40, 46, 50 and 51 thus may be formed integrally with various described components such as the sheet 24, the sheet 26 or the arbor 13. Integral forming is comparatively easy to do when the components are made by a casting method. If desired, gasketing or resilient seating surfaces may also be provided to further increase efficiency. It should be understood, however, that the instant embodiment is illustrative and is not intended to be restricted to one specific form of construction of the various piece parts.

When refrigerant is circulated through the line 21, some expansion of it will take place as it is discharged into the one end of the refrigerant passage in the base 11. Thus, cooling wil take place at this point. The refrigerant will flow upwardly along one side of the baffle 50 in the arbor 13a, through the orifice therein, and down the other side of the arbor 13a. Slight additional expansion will take place as the refrigerant passes through the orifice in the baffle S0.

The refrigerant then flows on to the arbor 13b where a similar flow pattern and additional expansion occurs. The flow continues serially through each of the other arbors in the device and finally passes through the orifice in the bafiie 51 of the arbor 1311, at which time it flows to the mouth of the return line 22 at the fitting 23 for return via the line 22 to the source of refrigerant 20,`

I have found that very little chilling of the horizontal. tray surface 24 results. However, temperatures many 4 degrees below zero are readily obtained at the outer surfaces of the various arbors 13.

Vessels may be deposited on each of the arbors, and as may be expected, those toward the supply line tend to chill first. However, a similar temperature is usually Obtained in less than five minutes at each one of the arbors. If any one vessel be removed and replaced with a warm vessel, such warm vessel will cause greaterrefrigreant expansion at its particular arbor, thereby ac celerating its cooling.

While the foregoing discussion has been directedprimarily to a gaseous refrigerant, it is also within the contemplation of my invention that this device may be used with a liquid refrigerant. When so used, the flow pattern is the same, the baflling serving to direct the flow of fluid to the cooling surface of each one of the various arbors in series, and serving to return the warmed-up fluid to the source of refrigerant.

The capillary line 21 and the return line 22 may be brought together telescopically by the fitting 23 as shown in Figure l. It is also Within the contemplation of my invention that these lines be disposed one within the other from a point substantially at the refrigerating unit 20. By the use of the novel fitting 23, the cooling tray may be placed into position where it is to be used, and the refrigerant line merely plugged into it at a single point. This novel structure eliminates the need for experienced installation personnel, and affords a high degree of portability to the device. Thus, other trays having other external arbor configurations may be readily substituted for different glasses or vessels The heat which is dumped to the atmosphere by the refrigerating unit 20 may also be made use of. A unit such as shown in Figure 4 may be provided in place of all or part of the cooling coil of the source of refrig-` erant 20. Such a device may be used to preheat other vessels, such as coffee cups. A similar device may also be used to more thoroughly dry washed vessels before they are placed on the chilling rack.

It is to be understood that the number of arbors provided for this device is illustrative and may be `either increased or decreased.

Although various minor modifications might be suggested by those versed in the art, it should be understood that l wish to embody within the scope of the patent warranted hereon all such embodiments as reasonably and properly come Within the scope of my contribution to the art.

I claim as my invention:

l. Apparatus for chilling individual open mouth vessels, including, in combination: a heat insulative base; a plurality of arbors for individually extending through the mouth of each of a plurality of vessels, said arbors being heat conduct've, being supported by said base, and extending in a common direction; means confined within each of said arbors for refrigerating each of said arbors from within for transfer of heat from the vessels through said arbors; and means defining a continuous passage disposed within said heat insulative base for connecting all of said refrigerating means together only in series for circulating a refrigerant through said arbors in series.

2. Apparatus for frosting individual open mouth vessels from within comprising, in combination: a fiat metal base having a sealed chamber therein and coextensive therewith for directly receiving refrigerant; a heat-conductive arbor-like formation sealed to and extending from one side of said base for being relatively received within the vessel, said formation being hollow and freely communicating directly with said base chamber; said base having a refrigerant inlet and a refrigerant outlet for said chamber; and baffling substantially entirely exposed to refrigerant in said chamber of said at base, and disposed functionally intermediate said inlet and said outlet for directing flow of refrigerant through said arborlike formation,

3. Apparatus for frosting individual open mouth vessels from within comprising, in combination: a at metal base having a sealed chamber therein and coextensive therewith for directly receivingrefrigerant; a heat-conductive arbor-like formation sealed to and extending from one side of said base for being relatively received within the vessel, said formation being hollow and freely communicating directly with said base chamber; said base having a refrigerant inlet and a refrigerant outlet for said chamber; and bafing substantially entirely exposed to refrigerant in said chamber of said flat base and disposed functionally intermediate said inlet and said outlet for directing refrigerant flow through said arbor-like formation, said baffling providing a restriction to flow axially within said arbor-like formation for expanding refrigerant gas.

4. Apparatus for frosting individual open mouth vessels from within comprising, in combination: a at metal base having a sealed chamber therein land coextensive therewith for directly receiving refrigerant; a plurality of heat-conductive arbor-like formations sealed to and eX- tending from one side of said base for being individually relatively received within the vessels, said formations being hollow and freely communicating directly with said base chamber; baffling within said base chamber so disposed and arranged as to functionally define a flow passage within said base chamber leading to said arbor-like formations in series; and additional baffling substantially entirely exposed to refrigerant in said chamber of said at base and disposed transversely of said passage within each of said arbor-like formations, said additional baiing providing a restriction to ow axially within each of said formations; said base being adapted at the ends of said passage to receive and return a refrigerant.

5. Apparatus for frosting individual open mouth vessels from within comprising, in combination: a at metal base having a sealed chamber therein and coextensive therewith for directly receiving refrigerant; la plurality of heat-conductive arbor-like formations sealed to and extending from one side of said base for being individually relatively received within the vessels, said formations being hollow and freely communicating directly with said base chamber; bailing within said base chamber so disposed and arranged as to functionally define a flow passage within said base chamber leading to said arbor-like formations in series; and additional baffling substantially entirely exposed to refrigerant in said chamber of said at base and disposed transversely of said passage within each of said arbor-like formations, said additional baffling providing a restriction to flow axially within each of said formations, said restrictions to flow being graduated in size along the length of said passage; said flat base being adapted at the ends of said passage to receive and return a refrigerant` 6. An apparatus for individually frosting open mouth vessels, comprising: a flat base comprising a hollow shell i having a sealed chamber therein, the upper surface of said shell being disposed and arranged to dene a tray having'` a plurality of spaced individual metal arbors secured directly thereto in heat transfer relationship and projecting in a common direction therefrom and being exposed to freer room air, said arbors being dimensioned to receive individual vessels thereover to be frosted; said shell havr ing internal bai-lies substantially entirely exposed to refrigerant in said sealed chamber of said shell and deiining therewith a fluid refrigerant passage in said sealed chamber leading through each of said arbors; said shell being adapted at the ends of said passage for connection n to a refrigerant source. y

7. Apparatus for frosting individual open mouth vessels, including in combination: a hollow metal tray having a sealed chamber therein; a hollow metal arbor for extending through the mouth of the vessel to be frosted,

said arbor having a fluid-tight metal-to-metal connecy tion with said tray, the interior of said arbor having free fluid `communication with said chamber; said tray and arbor having a plurality of internal partitions disposed and arranged in said chamber and in said arbor to define a fluid refrigerant passage having ends adapted for connection to coaxial refrigerant source and return lines, said passage extending interiorly of said arbor for enabling a fluid refrigerant to transfer heat therefrom to a vessel temperature below 32 F. to thereby frost the vessel externally from Within.

8. Apparatus for frosting individual open mouth vessels, including in combination: a hollow base having a sealed chamber therein partially defined by al pair of vertically spaced horizontally directed sheets; a hollow heat conductive vessel-supporting arbor externally exposed to the atmosphere and having an open end directly and sealably joined to the upper of said sheets and freely and directly communicating the interior of said arbor with the sealed chamber of said base; and a refrigerant passage in said base and partly defined by said arbor, and adapted at its ends for connection to coaxial refrigerant supply and return lines, for conducting a fluid refrigerant to transfer heat directly from the interior surface of said arbor to lower its temperature below 32 F., to thereby effect external frosting of the vessel by refrigeration from within.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 415,980 Sachs Nov. 26, 1889 505,369 Rhodes Sept. 19, 1893 2,737,786 Lindenberg Mar. 13, 1956 2,759,339 Kundert Aug. 21, 1956 2,776,552 Thomas Jan. 8, 1957 2,822,151 Heuer et a1. Feb. 4, 1958 

